Intra In Nocte (The Night Inside: A Luna Story)

Chapter Seventeen

Ten Minutes Later

        Luna arrived with her sister to the party by chariot. To Luna's surprise, it was not only the heroic element bearers and her sister that were being cheered, it was her as well! The ponies in Ponyville seemed to appreciate her, and Luna had never been happier.  Everything seemed right in her world. She was back in Equestria, she was herself again, she had her sister, and she was loved by her subjects once more. Two little fillies even flew up and gave her a necklace made our of white and red roses. Luna smiled. This was the best day of her life.

         That night, after a long night of feasts and banquets all over Equestria, Luna went straight to bed in her new room in the Canterlot Castle. Luna drifted quickly into sleep, where she was greeted by her father. Luna knew it was a dream, but all the same, it was too realistic for Luna to like. Luna stared intently at her father. She could tell it was not truly her father, he was not dreamwalking, but that did not reassure her. Slowly, her father's eyes formed slits, and his wings grew longer and more pointy. His body became elongated, his coat grew darker, and he formed a cruel smile that sent a shiver down Luna's spine. 

        Father stared intently into Luna's eyes. Luna heard familiar words swarm her head.

        "You must learn to suppress" "Somnus Exterreri" Nightmares" "we belong to the night" "hatred and fear" "your power could destroy all" "never repeat any of this to Celestia"

           "NO!" Luna screamed, waking herself up. A guard stepped into her room.

            "Everything alright, Princess?" he asked. He was a white colt with a blue mane and different armor than the rest.

            "Yes, thank you, sir," Luna replied. "May I ask your name?"

              "Me?" he asked, surprised. "My name is Shining Armor, I'm the captain of the royal guard," he explained kindly. He looked at me, his face a mixture of curiosity, pity, and pride. He smiled at me. "Goodnight, Princess Luna."

         "Goodnight, Shining Armor," I said, noticing that my old voice and appearance had reappeared during my sleep. I smiled. It felt good to be me.

           As I drifted back to sleep, I realized something I did not want to, something that had been lingering at the back of my mind even before my banishment. I needed to go and find my father, because only he truly understood what I was.